Personal PC Case Design - Input Appreciated!

marcus1019

Case Bender
Original poster
New User
Mar 7, 2017
2
0
Hello SFF Forum,

I've have been designing a PC enclosure for personal use and thought I would share it with y'all to get your opinions/critical criticism/help. First, let me try and explain what my intentions for this case are so you have some idea of it's intended use:

This case is intended to support a mini-itx motherboard, a blower style GPU, 2 SSDs, and an sfx PSU. As for cooling, I do not intend to do any intense overclocking (if I do at all), so I have decided to go with air cooling. Right now I am split between using a Cryorig C7 cpu cooler and a 80mm case fan on the back panel, or a Cryorig C1 cooler and the 80 mm case fan (if it will fit, it may only be possible if I can find one <25mm). I figure the combination of the case fan + CPU cooler + PSU intake fan combined will do a good job of pulling air in through the back and side and exhausting it out the top. With that out of the way, here are some pictures of the case:

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/ITYPw"><a href="//imgur.com/ITYPw">SFF PC Case</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

You'll probably notice this case is basically just an enlarged version of Project Jolokia, I hope the designer of that case doesn't mind too much since I'm only designing this for personal use. The entire case is made from 1.5 mm Al-5052 and has the following dimensions: 335 mm x 157 mm x 258.26 mm (LxWxH). The height includes the legs. The outside panels and legs would have a gloss powder coat with the color being RAL 1028, and the front panel and the rest of the frame would be a textured white powder coat. I do have some questions concerning the design that I was hoping y'all could help me with:

1) I am going to need a c13 to c14 extender to go from the PSU to the back panel, are there any places where I could buy such a thing or am I going to have to make one myself? I have found c13 and c14 connectors, and I don't mind having to make my own wire, but they have options for different terminal types (i.e. screw, tab, PCB spill etc.) and I am unsure which one I should choose. Here is a link to the c14 connector, the pull down tab under 'termination' shows the different termination options.

2) there is currently a distance of 142 mm between the mobo and the side of the case, leaving about 28 mm between the GPU and the side of the case, will I need more clearance for the PCI power adapter?

3) the case currently has a bunch of small holes on the outside panels to provide a path for air in enter/exit the case, will these significantly increase the cost of the case? also, how much space should I keep between the holes? I plan on using Protocase to manufacture this case, unless y'all have any other suggestions.

I appreciate any help on this, and if you notice any other issues/have any other suggestions, please let me know!

Thanks,
Marcus
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
Silver Supporter
Feb 22, 2015
4,969
4,780
You used the iframe embed code. To embed an album just post the imgur album url into the post and it'll get converted automatically. For individual images use the direct link url and then click the image button in the post editor, or just paste the BBCODE link directly.


And while this may be for personal use, I am a little disappointed that you really just took Jolokia and made it a bit bigger, duplicating not only the look, but also the design of the frame and brackets.

Jolokia itself takes design cues from the Lone Industries L4 for the shell and layout and the Zaber Sentry for the feet, but it's distinctly unique in aesthetics and implementation.
 

marcus1019

Case Bender
Original poster
New User
Mar 7, 2017
2
0
Ah, I should've reviewed my post after posting it...Thank you, much appreciated!

As to the other issue, I guess my thinking was why re-invent the wheel, right? Having said that, I do understand why you are disappointed, and I am sorry. If you would like me to remove my post, I will.